From the Ground Up
When the Woodlot Goes Quiet Taking Down Scale-Killed Red Pines in a Small Lakeside Woodlot By Tchukki Andersen, BCMA, CTSP Taking Down Sc
Red pine scale ( Matsucoccus resinosae ) has emerged as a rapidly expanding pest of mature red pine stands across the northeastern United States. Feeding be- neath the bark plates of trunks and large branch- es, this invasive insect uses its piercing–sucking mouthparts to draw sap from the phloem, disrupt- ing carbohydrate transport. As the scale feeds, resin production declines, weakening the tree’s first line of defense against secondary colonizers. The earliest visible symptom is oen a shi in crown color from healthy green to an olive drab. The can- opy then progresses to reddish brown and finally the dull gray of a dead tree — all of which can occur within a single growing season. White, waxy scale deposits may be present beneath bark plates or ex- posed in the excavation holes le by woodpeckers targeting secondary pests. By the time these signs are visible from the ground, the tree is almost al- ways beyond saving. The earliest visible sympto color from healthy green opy then progresses to r the dull gray of a dead tre within a single growing s may be present b posed in the excavation h targeting secondary pests are visible from the grou This was the scene that greeted a crew from Girard Tree Service when they arrived at a two-acre lake- side woodlot in Alton, New Hampshire, during the winter following the 2025 growing season. This was the scene that g when they a side woodlot in Alton, Ne winter following the 2025 Matsucocc as a rapidly expanding pes across the northeastern U neath the bark plates of u mouthparts to draw sap f ing carbohydrate transpor production declines, weak of defense against second
THE WARNING SIGNS WERE THERE The property owner first noticed browning needles in midsummer of 2023 — a season marked by exces- sive rain and widespread foliar disease throughout the region. But by winter, several red pines in the stand had turned completely brown. A closer inspec- tion confirmed the cause. What appeared at first to be foliage decline instead revealed white waxy residue beneath bark plates, heavy woodpecker activity, and the small exit holes of
White, waxy scale deposits may be found beneath bark plates or exposed in woodpecker excavation holes.
ArborTIMES ™ Spring 2026 | 41
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